The present invention relates generally to a method and system for establishing voice communications between a computer user and a business and, more particularly, a method and system for establishing voice communications between a computer user and an agent of a business via a computer network, such as the Internet, wherein the computer user transmits a call request over the computer network to a telephone switching system associated with the agent and, in response to the call request, the telephone switching system calls the computer user and connects the agent to the computer user when the computer user answers the call.
Computer users are increasingly interacting with other computer users via extensive computer networks. The computer users are able to perform a multitude of tasks over computer networks, such as buying concert tickets, checking, stock prices, reviewing news stories, and the like. One extensive, international computer network is the Internet. The Internet was originally created to electronically interconnect government and university computers over telephone lines. The Internet has now grown, however, to encompass over 20 million users worldwide including single user computers.
As the number of Internet users proliferate, businesses are increasingly turning to the Internet as an advertising medium. Over 2,500 businesses currently advertise on the Internet in the form of home pages on the World Wide Web (the xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d). As is well known by those in the art, the Web, which is organized by subject matter, is an advanced system for navigating the Internet. Home pages are the first screens of the different Web sites.
Computer users are therefore able to quickly and easily review a multitude of products and services which are offered by businesses advertising on the Internet. Unfortunately, a user is currently unable to obtain additional information regarding products or services in such a convenient and efficient manner. To obtain additional information, the user must record the telephone number of a particular business and manually call the business.
As those in the direct response advertising business will readily attest, the success of direct response advertising depends greatly upon the ease in which a potential customer can contact those selling the products or services. The additional steps of manually recording the telephone number and dialing the telephone number may therefore deter potential customers from further inquiry and possibly result in lost sales.
In addition, most individual consumers have a single telephone line in their home which is shared between voice connections for telephone calls and data connections for connecting to the Internet, for example. The typical consumer is thus unable to access the Internet while concomitantly making a telephone call to the business. Advantageously, many businesses have separate telephone lines for data and voice communications. Business computer users are thus able to conduct business simultaneously over both a telephone and a computer.
Further, lack of security, reliability and accountability restrict the ability of consumers to purchase goods over the Internet. Although some purchases can be made over the Internet using a credit card, the threat of someone fraudulently obtaining their credit card number through the computer network compels a majority of consumers to pay for the goods off-line, typically over the telephone using the previously described process.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and system for establishing voice communications between a computer user and an agent of a business wherein the computer user instructs a telephone switching system located at the business to call the computer user over the telephone. When the computer user answers the call, the telephone switching system automatically connects the agent to the computer user.
This need is met by the method and system of the present invention for establishing voice communications between a computer user and an agent wherein the computer user sends a call request over a computer network, such as the Internet, to a telephone switching network associated with the agent. The call request preferably includes a name of the computer user, a telephone number of a telephone associated with the computer user and a time to call. The telephone switching network detects the information contained in the call request and dials the computer user telephone at the designated time to call. When the computer user answers the computer user telephone, the telephone switching system connects an agent telephone associated with the agent to the computer user telephone.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for establishing voice communications between a computer user which is associated with a computer and a telephone and an agent is provided. The method comprises the steps of: entering a call request by the computer user in the computer for the agent to call the computer user; transmitting the call request from the computer over a computer network to a telephone switching system; and establishing voice communications between the agent and the computer user through the telephone switching system.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a communications system for establishing voice communications between a computer user and an agent is provided. The computer user being associated with a computer user telephone and entering a call request into a computer. The communications system comprises an agent telephone associated with the agent and telephone switching system for receiving the call request from the computer, for dialing the computer user telephone and for interconnecting the agent telephone and the computer user telephone.
Preferably, the telephone switching system comprises a telephone computer for receiving the call request from the computer. An automatic call distributor for automatically dialing the computer user telephone in response to the telephone computer and for interconnecting the agent telephone and the computer user telephone. The automatic call distributor preferably comprises answer means for detecting when the computer user answers the computer user telephone, and wherein the automatic call distributor connects the agent to the computer user telephone when the computer user answers the computer user telephone. The call request may comprise a time to call the computer user and the telephone computer may comprise time means for detecting the time to call the computer user from the call request; and dial means responsive to the time means for prompting the automatic call distributor to call the computer user telephone at the time to call.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a method for a computer user to easily and conveniently have a business advertising on a computer network, such as the Internet, call the computer user back over the telephone.